A leading Colorado philanthropist has pledged to leave most of his $1.1 billion fortune to fund scholarships for underprivileged students in four Western states, the Associated Press reports.

Seventy-eight-year-old Bill Daniels, who made much of his money during the 1980s cable boom as the head of Daniels Communications Inc., has set up the Bill Daniels Fund to administer scholarships for students in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. The fund will receive most of Daniels' money when he dies.

Daniels also is donating several million dollars a year to the fund, allowing it to offer scholarships now. This month, the fund will offer 25 full scholarships and 15 partial scholarships to Denver high school juniors, AP reports.

Phil Hogue, Daniels fund president, said 800 to 1,000 students will be able to attend college at any one time when the program is fully financed.

Daniels, who didn't graduate from college, has been one of Colorado's top philanthropists, making donations ranging from the gift of his $7 million home to the city of Denver, to a $22 million donation for the University of Denver for a business school, to $4 million for the University of Northern Colorado.

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